Certainly, in a general way, the best mere moral characters are only what any one may be, and all prudent person at all times would be, if Christ had never come into the world. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
The quote above gets at a vital issue of the utter and absolute importance of what it means to live by grace and in His strength. Even people who are devoted to hours of prayer a day can be living as if Christ had never come into the world. Even those who devote themselves to the so-called spiritual disciplines can be living as if Christ had never come into the world. Even those who are thought of as fiery and aggressive evangelists can be living a if Christ had never come into the world. One can be an orthodox preacher and have a large congregation and still live and preach as if Christ had never come into the world. One can be a seminary professor and still live as if Christ had never come into the world to save sinners and be the life of His people.
Christianity is not about living moral and prudent lives, it is about living to the glory of God while on earth and then with Him forever. The very best of human morality is nothing more and can be nothing more than the work of human flesh and flesh and blood cannot please God. The very best of human morality can never have God for its motive and so it would be nothing more than a splendid idolatry. This is to say very strongly that apart from Christ saving a human being and the Spirit dwelling in that human being there is nothing that human being can do but sin. But to put this strongly once again, the very best of human morality is nothing more than splendid idolatry and to be at enmity and at odds with God and His purposes for the universe and humanity.
The doctrine of the depravity and inability of man is not just a doctrine, but it is the truth about the inner parts of man and of the reality of what is going on with human souls. When Jesus said in John 15:5 that “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing,” He meant it. No one can do the slightest good in the eyes of God unless s/he is united to Christ and that person is abiding in Christ and receiving grace and life from Christ. While it is not obvious that all a person does is evil because there is some external things that appear to be good taking place, those things are simply another form of evil. God did not create human beings so that they could be good in their own strength, but that they would manifest His glory and the only way that can be done is by and through Christ.
While it seems so hard for people who have heard nothing but the drivel coming from what appears to be the vast majority of modern pulpits and books, there could be no true morality (holiness) coming from a human being unless Christ had come to the earth. There would be no regenerated sinners who alone can know God and love God. Apart from love for God, all that a person does is idolatry. There would be no hearts cleansed from sin and so all that a heart could do would be to love self and sin. If Christ had not come to this planet then there would be no Holy Spirit for His people who alone can work love and joy in the human heart apart from which there is no morality at all. If Christ had not come to this planet then there would be no human being united to Him and as such there would be nothing from Him to bear true fruit. Apart from true fruit, man would have nothing to be done by him or through him that would please God. This shows quite clearly that apart from Christ there would be no morality at all and the best morals and morality that men have today without Christ is to live as if Christ had never come into the world.
God Loves... Himself 
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